PSALM 143
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
1Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!
2And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
3For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.
5I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
6I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.
7Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
8Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.
9Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.
10Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me.
In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Your servant.
PSALM 144
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
1Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my deliverer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.
3O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.
5Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
7Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens
8Whose mouths speak deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9I will sing a new song to You, O God;
Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10Who gives salvation to kings,
Who rescues David His servant from the evil sword.
11Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of aliens,
Whose mouth speaks deceit
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,
And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;
13Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14Let our cattle bear
Without mishap and without loss,
Let there be no outcry in our streets!
15How blessed are the people who are so situated;
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
PSALM 145
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
1I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
7They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
9The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
10All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
11They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
12To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
16You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17The Lord is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
18The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
20The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
PSALM 146
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
1Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2I will praise the Lord while I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
4His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish.
5How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and all that is in them;
Who keeps faith forever;
7Who executes justice for the oppressed;
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous;
9The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
10The Lord will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
PSALM 147
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
1Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
2The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
4He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.
5Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite.
6The Lord supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
8Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
10He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11The Lord favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
12Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your sons within you.
14He makes peace in your borders;
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
15He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
18He sends forth His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19He declares His words to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.
Praise the Lord!